Small Molecules: can new classes of drug target reinvigorate drug discovery?

Invent: Life Sciences

In the pharmaceutical industry, there is a desire to go beyond the traditional ‘compound x acts on protein y,’ and achieve a more nuanced effect on the underlying biology. So, could innovative approaches to small molecules open up a wider application space? And what benefits might this bring to cash-strapped healthcare systems?

To find out, join us on Invent: Life Sciences, a podcast brought to you by technology and product development company TTP.

This Week's Guests

Anne Horgan
Anne Horgan is a partner at Cambridge Innovation Captial, a venture capital firm that invest in IP rich businesses in both deep tech and life science. With a robust academic foundation in organic and medicinal chemistry, Anne's career path began in Ph.D and postdoctoral research which culminated into a role in a small cambridge-based company dedicated to the creation of small molecules for therapeutic applications. Her journey then took her into the fascinating domain of technology transfer, where she honed her skills at Cancer Research UK (formerly known as Cancer Research Technology), helping bridge the gap between groundbreaking research and practical applications, now under the banner of Cancer Research Horizons. Now, Anne's expertise and experience has found their home at Cambridge Innovation Capital, where she continues to play an instrumental role in shaping the future of innovation and technology-driven businesses.
Rabia Khan
Rabia Khan is the founder and CEO of Serna Bio. Serna Bio (previously Ladder Therapeutics) is using an AI-based, data-first approach to write the rules that define RNA-small molecule interactions. Rabia's educational pursuit took her from Pakistan to Canada, where she pursued a degree in genetics, followed by a Ph.D and an MBA. Rabia would also go on to complete a postdoc on IPS derived macrophages in the UK. Rabia's passion for genetics stemmed from the elegance of the four-letter genetic code (ATGC) that defines all living beings, eventually leading her to a company called Sensyne Health, working at the intersection of computational methods and patient data to enable drug discovery. Rabia's journey has traversed both geographic and scientific landscapes, now, Rabia's work at Serna Bio is driving towards the world's first map of the druggable transcriptome.